Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Battle of Neville’s Cross (NZ260424)

This most famous
of military encounters – perhaps the most notable in County Durham’s history –
took place between the English and (of course) the Scots on 17th
October 1346. On this occasion, it was the former who emerged victorious,
placing the latter on the back foot for many years thereafter.

The battle took
place during the Hundred Years’ War between England
and France. The French, keen to divert the enemy away from hostilities in the
south, persuaded King David II of Scotland to open a second front – which he
duly did (if a little late) in the autumn of 1346. In early October, he led
12,000 troops over the border and into the northern counties of England,
expecting little in the way of opposition.

After a week or
so of pillage, they arrived on the outskirts of DurhamCity on 16th
October and camped at Bearpark, to the west. The English, however, had drawn
together a military presence in the area, and, under the command of the likes
of the Archbishop of York and the Lords Ralph Neville and Henry Percy, skirted
around the threatened city considering their options.

Early on 17th October 1346, a Scottish raiding party fell upon a branch of the English army,
were duly routed, and were then followed during a hasty retreat to the site of
the main invasion force. Various manoeuvrings followed in the ensuing hours,
until the two forces were drawn up against one another at roughly the spot
where the present-day railway line crosses the Great North Road (now the A167). A procession of monks from Durham Cathedral then performed
a ceremony within sight of the brooding Scots to raise the spirits of the
English ranks.

The English,
though fewer in number, were better positioned than the Scots; and their
longbow salvos soon overwhelmed the enemy’s pike. After three hours, King David
of Scotland slipped away wounded, but was found hiding under a narrow bridge
which still crosses the River Browney to the east of Bearpark. The day, for the
Scots, was lost, and their king taken south – where he languished in OdihamCastle,
Hampshire, for more than a decade. He wasn’t released (on payment of a hefty
ransom) until 1357.

As for the
commemorative cross, this was erected by Lord Neville shortly after the battle.
It has been periodically vandalised and altered over the years – but a small
fragment remains in the nearby suburbs.

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